Dirt Dawgs start hot, fade late

SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / BRETT CRAWFORD
Wachusett's Austin Sistrunk, right, is greeted at home plate by teammate Derek Lowe after hitting a home run during Wednesday's game against the Pittsfield Suns at Doyle Field in Leominster.

LEOMINSTER -- The Pittsfield Suns came limping into Wednesday night's game against Wachusett.

But the Suns -- 1-7 in their previous eight games -- left historic Doyle Field riding high, as a back-breaking, eight-run eighth inning paved the way for a much-needed 17-9 Futures Collegiate Baseball League victory over the Dirt Dawgs.

"We'll take it any way we can," said relieved Pittsfield manager Tom Conley. "The worst thing happened to us getting down early, but they did a good job of coming back and the bats were really alive tonight."

Knotted at 9-9 into the eighth, Wachusett (8-15) committed two straight errors to open the inning. Ryan Olmo smoked a single past the third baseman to plate one run and three batters later John Kinne flicked a two-run double down the right-field line as the Suns led 12-9.

SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / BRETT CRAWFORD
Wachusett Dirt Dawgs' Joey Gaouette delivers a pitch during Wednesday's game against the Pittsfield Suns at Doyle Field in Leominster.

Wachusett's third miscue of the inning brought home another run, and Frank Crinella's RBI single to center put the Suns (11-14) well out in front, 14-9. Steve Dill tacked on a little insurance with a two-run double to right field and Kyle Singleton (4 for 6, 2 RBIs) added an RBI infield single.

"Offensively, you put up nine runs a game you should win 100 percent of the time," Dirt Dawgs manager Nick Barese said.

In all, the Suns sent 13 batters to the plate and registered five hits to blow the game wide open.

"We got some help and kind of tough conditions out here and we took advantage of it," Conley said. "That was huge for us because we've been the ones getting the beating on us with the six-run inning, five-run inning, so it was good to be the one doing it.

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Both teams kept trading the lead throughout, but Wachusett, which entered 5-5 in its last 10 contests, tied it up 9-9 on Austin Mock's mammoth solo homer to left field with one out in the seventh inning.

The Dirt Dawgs launched four homers on the evening.

Trailing 8-7, the Suns rallied back in the seventh with Derek Gardella's two-run homer over the Nichols College sign in center field for a 9-8 lead.

Brenden Geary led off by reaching on an error and Gaouette, who cruised through two perfect frames to open the game, walked four straight to bring in two runs.

The Suns' Singleton then lined an RBI single to center and Ryan Olmo followed with a two-run double to right-center. David Montiverdi replaced Gaouette and allowed an RBI groundout to Derek Gardella to cap the inning.

Wachusett came out swinging in the first inning and showcased its power in the lineup with two solo homers for a 2-0 lead after one.

Sistrunk led off the inning with solo homer to center, and two batters later the ever-dangerous Moquete launched a long solo shot to center off Basso.

Tyler McVicar and Nate Pajka each singled, but Basso got a big strikeout to avoid further damage in rocky first for the Suns right-hander.

Wachusett's bats stayed hot in the second inning with two more hits -- Coyne's triple to right-center and Sistrunk's RBI single to left -- as the hosts jumped out to a 3-0 advantage.

Through three innings, Wachusett had 10 hits, including three for extra bases.

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